Power Rangers: Energy Combat X
by VFrame
Summary: Normal high schoolers turned Power Rangers have to protect Earth from Master J's shadow army as they fight for the five power crystals that determine the fate of their world. Rated T but may contain some language/adult themes. A redo of my first ever series, Power Rangers: Energy Combat! Drop in, read a bit, and review if you'd please!
1. Prologue - Master J

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

If you've read this story/my work before, then reading this author's note is crucial. If you're new to my work, then ignore this and get started with the story!

Hey guys, I've been thinking of doing this for a while now. I was just reading some of my stuff from the past a bit and a realized that I really could have done a much better job with "Energy Combat". As such, I'm going to reboot the entire story keeping some of the core elements while also drastically changing some of the framework of the story (for the better or for the worse, who knows?).

Recently I've been getting into _The Amazing Spider-Man_ and its sequel and I have to say that I really like the concept of vigilantism in crime fighting (actually, watching the two films re-inspired me to do this and you'll see a heavy influence of them in some scenes). I decided that molding Power Rangers into this mature style of vigilantism would be kinda cool, so that's what my template is.

Not only that, I'm going to drastically change some of the characters as well. Raylan is going to more resemble Peter Parker, Emma is going to more resemble Gwen Stacy, and Johnny and Mike share qualities of Flash Thompson (but that's not all). With that being said, there is going to be a _huge_ change to the Ranger line-up. I don't want to spoil anything yet so I'm not going to say it, but just keep in mind that this story is less of a _re-write_ and more of a _redo_.

Anyways, on with the story!

* * *

 _Rated T - May contain strong language or adult themes_

 **PROLOGUE - MASTER J**

 _Another minor author's note for some people who may be OCD about this kind of thing: Obviously English as a language wasn't established millions of years ago - in another dimension, at that - so bear with me when the Shadows speak in English._

 **Millions of years ago in another dimension...**

 **==The Shadowlands==**

A shadowjet zoomed past the Quasar Orb - the sole light source in the Shadowlands - at a blinding speed. Behind it was a much larger superfleet in pursuit.

The Shadowlands was never a forgiving place. Years of spatial compression in a compact zone of existence forged the creation of beings molded by the shadows. These "shadows" - as they were preferred to be called - were essentially pitch-black humanoid creatures with no features apart from their limbs and their cosmic coloring. They existed with absolutely no purpose or direction until the matter holding them together dissolved.

That was, until, Master J put himself into the picture.

Tired of the linear lifestyle of the shadows, Master J took matters into his own hands. He was quick to put the shadows under his rule and was the first (and so far only) shadow to be held up higher than the rest. Time as the leader of the dimension molded him to have a larger and more powerful stature than the rest of the shadows - one that was only to be feared.

Years and years of his rule led to a system of organized government in the Shadowlands with him at the helm. He had several commanders and generals appointed below him that acted as medians between him and his shadow citizens. At this point, it became clear by the differences in the sizes of the shadows which ones held higher standards in society.

The Shadowlands eventually turned into its own kind of utopia. The shadows were able to feel emotion and actually had a direction to live in. No longer were their lives entirely meaningless. The shadows both feared and admired all that Master J had done for them in order for them to be able to live they way they were living.

However, with all societies and leaderships, all it took was a little power to get to Master J's head before corruption began. J began to take advantage of his people on his quest for godlike power. A good chunk of the shadows eventually pushed for a revolution in an attempt to overthrow J from his tyrannic rule. Unfortunately, the revolution was quickly put off by J and his commanders and most of the treasonists were disposed of.

The treasonists that managed to survive formed an underground group led by one of J's closest generals, General Quor. These treasonists put all their power and energy into five colored crystals from their spectrum: red, green, pink, teal, and saffron. These five crystals combined were said to hold enough power to defeat J almost effortlessly, but there was one problem - the treasonists themselves could not harness the power as it would only lead to corruption in their society again. Instead, they would have to send the crystals on a warp to another dimension for another species with a message to harness them.

After spending years and years planning, they were finally able to gather the power to create a warp hole to another dimension. Through that hole they would send the five crystals to track down a world with looming intelligent civilization. Everything was going as planned until J discovered their intentions.

General Quor flew his shadowjet as fast as he could through the Shadowlands. He would have to pilot his way to the warp hole on the far end of the Shadowlands just in time to be able to travel to another dimension. Master J and the rest of his commanders were tailing him as fast as they could, firing deadly light rays harnessed from the Quasar Orb at his shadowjet.

"Can't let that one hit me!" General Quor shouted to himself in his cockpit as he barrel rolled his way out of being roasted by a light ray. Light rays themselves could not damage solid matter, but they had enough power to dissolve a shadow into oblivion. "Gotta be quicker than that!"

"I want him dead!" Master J roared to his commanders in his superfleet's cockpit. "I can't let this traitor escape!"

"We're doing everything we can," Commander Zod reassured his master.

"We won't let him out of our sights!" Commander Krahg shouted and fired another light ray.

General Quor barrel rolled again and continued his pursuit to the warp hole. He didn't have much time as the warp hole had a time limit and would close if he did not reach it fast enough.

"Oh come on..." he mumbled to himself and pushed the gas pedal as far as it would go. "Come on, faster! Come on!"

Master J's superfleet, however, was much faster and was catching up at a dangerous pace. If Quor's shadowjet wasn't able to pick up top speed fast enough he would be nothing more than a memory.

"I want you to unleash everything we've got on him!" Master J shouted at his commanders. "If he leaves then our civilization is doomed!"

"What does it look like we're doing?" Commander Krahg asked in frustration. He took aim at Quor's shadowjet and fired a powerful light ray.

The warp hole began to close up as Quor's shadowjet was approaching at top speed. His jet would make it in time! However, Quor looked in the rear-view video transmitter of his jet and sighed deeply at what he saw. The speed at which Krahg's light ray was coming at was impossible for him to dodge. He sat back in ultimate relaxation, accepting his fate - his life being the sole price for saving the people he cared dearly about.

The light ray flooded his cockpit with blinding whiteness as his body was reduced to absolutely nothing. His jet powered through using its momentum and managed to fly straight through the warp hole just as it was about to close.

"No!" Master J roared as loud as he could in blinding anger. "How could you let that jet get away!"

"We... we're sorry master..." Commander Zod apologized.

"I want all your work and effort going into creating another warp hole..." J grumbled at his commanders. "And I don't want any of you to rest until it is complete. If it takes eons, then so be it! I will not sit back idly as the Shadowlands are ripped apart from the inside out. Am I understood?"

Commander Zod and Krahg sat in silence.

"I said 'am I understood?'" J asked again.

"Yes, master," the two commanders nodded. "We will get to work right away."

"Good," Master J mumbled and took a deep breath.

He wasn't going to lose this battle.

* * *

Hey, thanks for reading! I know what you're thinking: _another_ author's note!? Well, kinda. I just wanted to ask anyone who read and enjoyed/didn't enjoy to review and give me some feedback on what I've started off so far. Obviously your feedback means a lot to me since I'm completely rebooting this story so I'd like to know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 1 - Just Another Day

_Rated T - May contain strong language or adult themes_

 **CHAPTER 1 - JUST ANOTHER DAY**

 **Present day...**

 **==Smalltown, California, United States==**

Despite the misleading name, Smalltown was a rather large city. The gleaming futuristic city dubbed "The New York City of the West Coast" was dominated in its skyline by the ProgTech tower - one of the tallest in the world. Founded at the base of Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area, Smalltown had been a large city for STEM (science-technology-engineering-math) professions. Capitalizing on the prime location and qualified workers of the area, the ProgTech research company was founded there. For as long as Smalltown had been standing, ProgTech had been the city's golden ray of economical sunlight.

It felt like any other spring Monday morning on the bay: cool, sunny, and the light breeze coming in and out for the perfect weather combination. The temperature began to steadily increase as the transition between winter to spring was finally over. The entire city was getting ready for the day with parents making the morning commutes to work and students getting ready to sit through school.

Sixteen-year-old junior Raylan Westbrook stepped out of the shower by his bedroom and walked to his personal closet, his messy chocolate-brown skater hair still wet and dropping down over his equally brown eyes. He carefully observed the clothes that were folded and hanging before quickly making his choice. Hanging in the far end was a dark red field jacket that he always felt made him appear tougher and fit his near six-foot tall athletic stature well. With a self-approving smirk, he pulled the jacket and a pair of dark blue slim-fit jeans off of hangers. He also found a dark-red t-shirt folded up on a shelf that he thought would look good under his jacket.

He quickly moved over to his bed and threw his clothes on. There was a pair of black Nike socks and black Vans with a red trim lying on the foot of his bed and he quickly slipped them on. His black backpack with maroon zippers was lying in the corner of his room next to his black skateboard with a red dragon design on the bottom. He walked over to them and picked them both up, strapping his backpack while holding his skateboard in his hand.

He was ready for school.

A quick jog down the creaky old stairs of the house was all that lay between him and his delicious homemade breakfast. Since his family wasn't in the best financial state - borderline poverty, to be exact - most of the features of the house were old and worn down as it was hard to afford. When Raylan got to the bottom of the stairs, he saw both his parents and his younger sister sitting at the kitchen table.

"Look who's finally here," his dad commented and put the newspaper he was reading down on the table. He was already dressed in a bright orange vest for his moderately paying construction job, the slight balding in his light brown hair an indicator of the stress. "Your mother was kind enough to make you some scrambled eggs and bacon. If you're lucky it'll still be hot."

"Thanks, mom," Raylan sighed with a smile and took his seat at the table with the plate already in front of him. "It looks good."

"Did you ever hear back from that job at the lab you were applying to?" His mother asked with curious blue eyes, her dark brown hair tied back in a ponytail. Since she didn't have a job, she took pride in the fact that the possibility of another set of income coming into the house.

"You mean Gene Center? Nah, they never called back," Raylan groaned and took a bite out of a fork-full of eggs. "That's probably their way or saying they don't wanna hire me."

"Maybe it's cause your hair is always messy, you look like a fool always on your stupid skateboard, and you dress like we live in Alaska with that jacket of yours," his younger sister Katie scoffed, a look of utter disappointment in her hazel eyes. Since she was now a freshman high school and occasionally saw her brother in the hallways, she had to make sure he didn't look embarrassing.

"Well maybe you should tie your hair back instead of letting it fly everywhere like a wild animal," Raylan shot back.

"My hair is perfect!" Katie exclaimed and caressed her long brown bottom-curled hair in defense.

"Come on guys, could you knock it off?" Their father groaned. "Let's start the day off right."

"So Kylie called earlier this morning," their mom said, changing the topic. Kylie was the oldest sibling in the family, a twenty year old attending the University of California at Los Angeles with a full scholarship. By going to college without requiring her parents to spend a dime, she was the family's golden child despite their hesitation to admit it. "She said she's going to try and visit this weekend."

"That's fantastic," Katie said sarcastically and continued to eat.

"Well, looks like I'm done with breakfast," Raylan announced and scarfed down the rest of his food. He got up from the table, picked up his backpack and skateboard from the floor next to him, and looked to his younger sister. "I've gotta get to school early today to finish off some homework and I'm gonna skate there right now which means you have to find someone to walk you."

"Are you serious!?"

"Yup, see you later!" He exclaimed and walked out the front door.

* * *

It had reached early afternoon and Smalltown High School was in session between classes with students hustling and bustling through the halls trying to get to their next destination. The large high school served a good amount of the city's suburban teenagers and enrolled students of almost every economic class. As a result, there was a large diversity in students branching out of their own social groups to make friends.

Raylan was at his locker stuffing his skateboard at the back. Skateboards weren't allowed to be rode on in the hallways and Raylan was caught by a teacher riding his through the halls earlier. As a result, he would have to keep it locked away for the rest of the day, something that happened to him often but never failed to be an annoyance.

There was a loud slam next to him and he turned his head to get a look, flipping some of his hair out of the way to get a better view of what was unfolding. A fairly large student had pinned a much smaller, nerdier student to the locker next to him. While this was a fairly common sight in the hallways, Raylan was never a fan of it.

"Johnny, put Tyler down," Raylan groaned and glared at the larger boy.

Johnny King, while seen mainly by other kids as the school's stoner, liked to do his fair share of bullying. He was a large kid about the same height as Raylan with a blonde buzz cut. His deep green hoodie, dirty khakis, and large military boots made him look like the kid to stay away from in the hallways

Tyler Bleak, on the other hand, was a pale lanky half-Hispanic boy with messy curly brown hair and thick-frame glasses that hid his blue eyes. He wore a blue plaid button-up shirt and matching blue skinny jeans leading down to his black Converse high tops. His black backpack was pushed up against the locker cushioning his back from much injury.

"What did you say to me?" Johnny asked with irritation and dropped Tyler from his grasp.

"Phew," Tyler sighed with deep breaths.

"I told you to put him down," Raylan answered. "And it looks like that's what you did."

"Are you trying to say something?" Johnny grit his teeth with a terrifying state.

"Nah, I just wanted you to put him down," Raylan explained. "There's no reason to pin him to the locker."

Johnny didn't say anything and instead clocked Raylan straight in his left eye. The impact of the hit was so hard that Raylan hit against the lockers and fell to the ground. He slouched there groaning in pain.

"Don't fuck me with, Westbrook!" Johnny roared and began to walk away. "Don't you fuck with me!"

"Oh man..." Raylan groaned in pain. When Johnny was out of eyeshot, he slowly stood back up.

"Hey, thanks man," Tyler mumbled awkwardly. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem, dude," Raylan nodded and patted the smaller teen's shoulder. "Don't let Johnny get to you. He's all brawn and no brain. He was probably on roid rage or something, man."

"Your eye..." Tyler muttered and examined Raylan's eye. "It's all bruised and black."

"It is?" Raylan asked and touched his left eye. He winced at how sensitive the area was. "Yeah, you're probably right. I mean, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"You're not gonna try and cover it up?" Tyler asked. "Wouldn't your parents be worried? My parents would freak out."

"Nah, I'll just say I got hit at lacrosse practice or something," Raylan shrugged.

"Alright, then. I'll leave you to it," Tyler shrugged before hearing the bell ring through the hallways. "Anyways, I gotta get to class. Thanks for helping me out."

"Yeah dude, of course," Raylan nodded and shut his locker. He looked to Tyler who was walking away. "Hey, stay safe, man!"

Not hearing a reply, Raylan shrugged and walked off to his next class. Since the bell just rang, he would have just enough time to make it upstairs and through the halls on the other side of the school without any interruptions to get to his biology class. Luckily, he made it through the hallways without running into Johnny or any other incidents and managed to slip into class just before it started.

"Mr. Westbrook," Mr. Stone, the biology teacher, called him out. "You're a bit late. Everybody already partnered up for the lab. It looks like you're going to have to join a group if you want credit for your work."

"Damn..." Raylan muttered under his breath and walked to the lab station. Mr. Jones was right, the entire class was partnered up. Raylan didn't even have any friends in his biology class to make joining a pair easier. "I'll get right to it, Mr. Jones."

He grumbled to himself and looked at the lab benches. It wasn't his intention to force his way into another group, but he was left with no other choice. If he wanted to maintain his high "A" in the class and maintain his stellar GPA for colleges to notice, he would have to do what Mr. Jones told him to do.

Off to the side he noticed Emma Pryce and Ryleigh Smith already working on their lab together. He remembered having a crush on Emma for as long as he knew her but was never able to do anything about it. In his defense, she was gorgeous enough to render the most talkative of people speechless.

Emma was the textbook definition of the perfect girl. Her blonde semi-curled hair flowed down perfectly to the cream cardigan she was wearing over her yellow blouse. Her black leggings hugged onto her legs perfectly to give justs a defined shape of them all the way down to her brown Ugg boots. The plus to that was she was just as smart as she was beautiful. An intern at ProgTech's life science offices, she had by far the highest GPA in the school and was the obvious choice for valedictorian.

Ryleigh Smith was nothing to scoff at either. While Raylan himself couldn't see it, a majority of the guys had her ranked as the hottest girl in school. Her long brown hair coated the top of her pink sundress just perfectly enough to melt any guy's heart. Despite knowing just how attractive she was, she never fit the stereotype of using people to her advantage.

Raylan must have been staring at their lab bench for too long because Emma quickly noticed and glanced at him. Nervous, he took a small step back but still looked her in the eye.

"Raylan, do you have a partner?" She asked him.

"No, I..." Raylan chuckled and put his hands in his pockets. "I... uhh... no, I don't have a partner."

"Well, you're more than welcome to join us," Emma offered and made room at the bench next to her. "We just started and it's not that hard to follow."

"Uh, sure, thanks," Raylan nodded and walked over to the bench. He quickly examined the plants in front of them. "So what exactly are we doing here?"

"Well we're basically separating the chlorophyll from the rest of the plant to observe how the chloroplasts work," Emma explained to Raylan.

"What happened to your eye?" Ryleigh turned to Raylan and asked suddenly.

"Oh, this?" Raylan rubbed the swollen part of his eye again. "It just... uhh... I... I ran into a pole... on... on the way to class..."

"Huh, that sucks," Ryleigh replied and continued with the lab without asking any further questions.

Emma was busy boiling water and moving one plant between the water and a small sample of rubbing alcohol. Nothing seemed to be working the way it was supposed to and Raylan could see there was a little bit of frustration in the way she was working - something which people were seldom used to seeing.

"This doesn't make any sense..." Emma groaned while holding a plant sample.

" _You_ don't understand the lab?" Raylan asked blankly.

"I just... I just can't do this," she groaned in annoyance.

"I think you're supposed to heat up the rubbing alcohol," Raylan informed her.

"Why would we do that?" She asked. "That doesn't make any sense."

"If you heat the rubbing alcohol then it'll be able to absorb the chlorophyll from the plant," Raylan explained.

"Are you sure?" Ryleigh asked, looking to Emma. There was no way Raylan could know what to do if Emma didn't.

"Positive."

"If you say so," Emma said and re-did the experiment.

She paid close attention to how she heated the rubbing alcohol as she followed through with Raylan's instructions. Maybe, just maybe, he had corrected an error in her procedure, something which had never happened before. After heating the rubbing alcohol, she placed the boiled plant inside the cup and looked to see if a reaction occured.

"Nothing's happening," she told her group immediately after immersing the plant in the rubbing alcohol.

"That's because it hasn't been long enough for a reaction to occur," Raylan told her. "You've gotta give it a few seconds."

"Whatever you s-"

"Emma, look!" Ryleigh exclaimed and pointed to the plant.

It had lost almost all of its color as it changed to a pale yellow. The rubbing alcohol that it lay in transformed into a pool of green liquid - chlorophyll.

Raylan was right. Emma was wrong.

No - it was _impossible_.

Nobody had ever proved Emma wrong in anything life science related. She was Smalltown High School's golden student in terms of biology. Everybody was certain that she would get a full ride into Stanford University's School of Medicine. She went through all her years of school being virtually perfect at every aspect of science.

She looked to Raylan with disbelief in her emerald eyes.

"You... you were right," she told him.

"Yeah," Raylan nodded as if it were common sense, glancing between the two girls to make sure they were on the same page.

"Nobody's ever proven Emma wrong before," Ryleigh told him, and she would know - the girls had been best friends since elementary school.

"You mean you seriously didn't understand why the reaction worked that way?" Raylan asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah... uhh.. I... no... no, I didn't know," Emma finally admitted with pressed lips.

"Yeah, well, now we're all getting A's," Raylan told the girls.

"Ryleigh!" Mr. Stone called from the front of the class with the classroom phone to his ear. "You're needed in the front office!"

"Oh, that must be my parents dropping my lunch off," she said and left the lab bench. "I'll be back in, like, two minutes. Don't blow anything up while I'm gone, okay?"

"Yeah," Raylan nodded and looked to Emma when Ryleigh left the classroom. "I'm still having trouble believing you didn't know that. It's biology, not rocket science."

"Aerospace engineering is actually the term," Emma corrected him jokingly. "But yes, you got me. There's no lying my way around that one."

"Emma Pryce - biology student of the year, ProgTech's finest young genetic research intern, and our school's consensus number one - didn't know how to finish an experiment," Raylan joked back at her. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"Oh, now you're just being flattering," Emma chuckled before the two began to awkwardly stare at each other. "Uhh... you know... ProgTech is looking for some new interns soon, you might wanna apply."

"Me? Apply to ProgTech? Why would I do that?" Raylan asked. "There's no way they could use somebody like _me_."

"I mean, you clearly have an apt understanding of biology," Emma answered.

"All I did was work my way around a simple mistake. I mean, that's like me being appointed police chief for pushing someone out of the way of a speeding car."

"Except you're good at sciences in general," Emma told him. "I mean come on, it's not going to hurt to apply."

"Yeah, I'll consider it," Raylan shrugged before realizing this was his one chance. "Uhh... how about we exchange numbers real quick? So... uhh... I can ask you any questions I have."

"Yeah, that... umm... sounds good," Emma nodded with a nervous blush. She handed him her pearly white iPhone 6. "Just go into my contacts and add yourself. I'll text you later or something so you can get my number, too."

"Cool," Raylan smiled and typed his number in. As he finished entering his contact information into her phone, he remembered getting a glance at her phone's background. It was a yearly picture of the school's lacrosse team which Raylan was on. He couldn't help but muster a small smile to himself as he handed her phone back to her. "Oh, by the way, any reason why your wallpaper is of the lacrosse team?"

"Uhh..." Emma stammered and received her phone from Raylan, her eyes wide open and her cheeks a rosy red from embarrassment. "It... it must have been an accident or something. I don't... know why that is."

"Yeah?" Raylan smirked.

"Y-yeah..." Emma nodded awkwardly, keeping her arms behind her back and her lips pressed.

Fortunately, Ryleigh walked back into the classroom just in time to save her friend from embarrassing herself even more in front of Raylan.

"That was quick," Ryleigh said as she walked over to the lab bench, holding a brown paper bag. "At least now I don't have to eat the grimy cafeteria food before lunch. You guys didn't destroy anything, right?"

"You'd be correct," Raylan answered with quick chuckle and a sly smirk directed at Emma. "Everything turned out A-OK."

* * *

And that's a wrap for the first chapter! Like I said before, there are going to be some drastic changes with the story. Hopefully that doesn't turn you guys away or anything :)

And before you ask, yes I based Emma's looks off of Gwen Stacy, Raylan's looks off of Peter Parker, and Johnny's looks off of Flash Thompson.

Oh, and leaving a **review** never hurt! Whether you liked it or not, feedback is always much appreciated!


	3. Chapter 2 - The Discovery

_Rated T - May contain strong language or adult themes_

 **CHAPTER 2 - THE DISCOVERY**

 **==Smalltown, California, United States==**

The ProgTech offices were busy in the late afternoon with the building's different departments doing their own things. Part of being an employee in such a prestigious company meant that most of the work was very intense and required all of their thought and focus. As such, a lot of the employees had spend most of the day putting their brains to as much work as possible. It was, as the old saying went, just another day in the office.

In the genetics department, there was a lot of extra thinking that had to be done. Some of the department's excavators had brought in a metal object that appeared to be a steel casing left behind from a crash. It had been discovered not too far from the city in a remote forest by the coast and scans showed it contained some elements of life inside. The metal case itself appeared to be easy to break open but needed to be done with utmost care.

Dr. Albert Gehn walked into the genetics main laboratory on the twentieth floor of the building and got ready to get to work on the new discovery. He was a Welshman in his mid fifties - although his scraggly gray hair and his thin glasses made him appear older - who was the head of all genetics operations at ProgTech. His goal and purpose was to discover the link between humans and "superhumans".

The busy work day had rendered him tired and the last thing he wanted to do was begin another project, but he knew better than to pass up on an opportunity to learn more about something. His education at Oxford made him one of the top dogs at ProgTech and that came with the responsibility of making sure he knew everything that happened in his department. As a result, he decided to bite the bullet and go on with the project.

He walked over to the lab table where the metal box was kept. It looked like any standard workbench at an office lab with drawers on the bottom and shelves above for storage. There were a few excavators and researchers gathered around the box who made way for Dr. Gehn to take his place front and center.

"What do we have here?" He asked loudly and grazed his hands over the metal box. The surface was cold and smooth, indicating that it would be easy to melt open.

"It's some sort of metal case we discovered not too far away from here," one of the excavators standing next to him explained.

"And it's significance?"

"We didn't think much of it at first but the char on it indicates that it was probably in some sort of crash... but that's not even the most unsettling part."

"Then what is?"

"There is some sort of... genetic material within this box," the excavator explained. "Also, we were able to date the metal on the box to about a few million years ago."

"That's impossible..."

"I mean, that's what we found," the excavator shrugged. "There's nothing else I can tell you. I'd suggest opening it and seeing for yourself."

Dr. Gehn sighed and pulled out a drawer under the table. After sifting through a few tools, he grabbed himself a mini-flamethrower and plugged it into an outlet nearby. He flipped a few switches on the tool and a small flame blew from the top. Keeping his hands steady, he burnt a fairly large hole in the middle of the box.

"Let's take a look at what's inside," he announced to everybody and held the box upside down. Five colored gems - red, green, pink, teal, and saffron - fell out and onto the workbench. "What are these? Didn't you say that this box contained genetic material?"

"That's what we recorded in our findings," another excavator shrugged. "Perhaps it's _inside_ the gems?"

"Perhaps," Dr. Gehn exhaled. "Anyways, thank you all for your work. I think I'll take it from here."

Everybody in the lab apart from Dr. Gehn and a few close assistants cleared the room. It was quick to become a mess as all of the lab workers were busy running around with equipment trying to see what exactly was in the gemstones. Eventually Dr. Gehn himself pulled out some heavy machinery and conducted his own tests on the gems. After a long hard period examining them, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"What is it, doctor?" One of his top lab assistants, Kyle, asked. He was an African-American male in his early thirties and short black, curly hair.

"It appears that these gems have a little bit of mRNA inside of them," Dr. Gehn finally answered. "What the mRNA says is clueless to me and I will have to go through a few more tests to determine that."

Despite keeping his cool about the situation, Dr. Gehn was actually very lost about what was going on. Just earlier he had some workers discover a metal box containing "genetic material" inside from "millions of years ago". Inside of the box was five colored gems that contained messenger RNA that coded for who-knows-what. Something about the situation told him that it should be kept hushed. It was something so unusual that it was unsettling.

" _By the stone I live, by its crack I die..._ " something whispered repeatedly throughout the room.

The line repeated through Dr. Gehn's head and he looked around the room trying to seek its source. It didn't sound like it came from one direction, rather from the entire room. All of his assistants just looked at him as if he were mad.

"Isn't it about time for your interns to come in? Why not have some of them work on it for you?" Kyle asked, snapping Dr. Gehn out of the strange trance. "I'm sure the experience would be valuable for them and they may be able to find things out that you missed."

"No, there's something about this that I want to keep away from them," Dr. Gehn explained with a sigh of relief as the voices quieted. "Maybe if I could isolate the mRNA, but until then I don't want to present them with this."

"Understood, doctor," Kyle nodded. "Perhaps you'd like me to help?"

Dr. Gehn nodded slowly and suddenly felt a flash in his head. It lasted for just a split second but felt like an eternity. In it, he saw the five gems being held by people who's faces were blurred out. He could have sworn they were teenagers fighting some sort of war, but then the vision ended and he returned to reality. Something must have been wrong as Kyle looked to him inquisitively.

" _By the stone I live, by its crack I die..._ " the whisper repeated once more.

"Are you okay?" Kyle probed.

"Yeah..." Dr. Gehn sighed and looked to his assistant apprehensively. At this point, he just wanted to finish the job and leave as soon as possible. "Let's just get to separating the code before the interns get here, alright?"

"Yes sir," Kyle nodded with a slight reluctance.

* * *

Meanwhile in the women's bathroom in the lobby, Emma was making sure her bright white labcoat had concealed well what she wore to school earlier. While the office place didn't have serious clothing restrictions outside of full body clothes, they still liked to see their employees looking professional. Emma smiled at herself in the mirror and quickly tied her hair back in a ponytail per lab requirements.

After giving herself a thumbs-up for approval, she headed out of the bathroom and into the lobby. The lobby of the ProgTech building was grand and very glassy, letting a lot of natural evening sunlight into the building. Varieties of offices were scattered around the first few floors which were accessible by elevators. Emma could see that there were many people in suits and office attire walking around and going about their day. There were rows and rows of elevators lining up the inside of the building carrying people to different departments.

She took a deep breath and headed for one of the elevators. She pressed the "UP" button, watching its color transform from clear to an orange glow signaling that her command had been received. The elevator slowly began its descent all the way from the top of the building downstairs. Waiting patiently, she hummed quietly to herself.

Finally, the elevator reached the bottom and opened its doors for her. A swarm or employees taking their leave for the day burst out of the elevator and Emma stepped in by herself when it finally cleared out. She observed the buttons until she saw "20", pressed it softly, and waited for the elevator doors to close.

"Can you hold that, please?" She heard a nerdy voice ask from a distance.

"Yeah!" Emma yelled back and quickly pushed down on the "Door Open" button. She watched as a recognizable lanky teenager with thick frame glasses and curly brown hair rushed into the elevator in a heavy pant. "What floor are you headed to?"

"Seventeen, please," he asked in deep breaths.

"Gotcha," Emma nodded and pressed the "17" button.

"Thanks."

"Do you go to my school?" Emma turned to ask him as the doors finally shut and the elevator began its slow ascent.

"Uhh... Smalltown High?" The boy asked awkwardly with his back against the elevator wall.

"Yes, I was certain I'd seen you around before," Emma told him with a smile. "And you are...?"

"T-Tyler," he stammered, fixing his glasses.

"You don't have a last name?" Emma joked.

"Tyler B-Bleak," he answered fully.

"Ah, just making sure. There are some people who don't have last names, you know?" Emma laughed and extended her arm to him. "I'm Emma Pryce, it's nice to meet you."

"It's, uhh..." Tyler extended his arm outward and shook Emma's awkwardly. "It's nice to meet you... uhh... as well."

"So you're an engineering intern?" Emma asked and read Tyler's badge.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Tyler nodded and looked down at his badge.

"That's cool. What kind?"

"Computer engineering with a bit of robotics," Tyler replied with a confident smile, almost as if Emma's question struck the social part of him.

"Really? That sounds awesome!"

"Yeah... it's really fun..." Tyler chuckled as the elevator doors opened to the seventeenth floor. "Anyways, I've got to get off to work. It was nice meeting you."

"Yup, you too," Emma nodded. "See you 'round sometime."

The elevator doors closed and it continued its ascent up to the next three floors. There was a light ringing noise and it opened up when it reached twenty. Emma walked out slowly and headed to her mentor, Dr. Gehn's, lab. All it took were a few double doors and security checkpoints with her ProgTech ID and she was in the lab and ready to work.

She spotted Dr. Gehn and a few other interns each looking under a fluorescent microscopes. Realizing that they had already started and she didn't want to get behind on anything, she quickly took her spot at the lab table around them.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologized to her mentor. "The elevator wasn't exactly super fast. What exactly are we doing here?"

"I've isolated some mRNA from a sample and injected them into a blank cell. I want you to observe them and translate their codons," Dr. Gehn explained and handed Emma a clear slide. "When you're done, write a small report on your findings and hand them into my office."

"Sounds easy enough," Emma replied and put the clear slide under an unattended fluorescent microscope. "I'll get right to it."

Emma zoomed in the focus on her microscope deep onto the sample in her slide and inspected the cultures of mRNA moving around. She sat there observing how the genes coded into the cells carefully before beginning to write notes down on a notepad. Very slowly and carefully, Emma spend her time just sitting, watching, and writing. When she was finished with her observations, she lifted her head up and looked at her notepad with a sly smile.

"Dr. Gehn, I think you're gonna like this!" She exclaimed and called him over from helping another intern.

"What is it, Emma?" Dr. Gehn asked and walked over to her. He peered over her shoulder and took a peek at her notes.

"What I found was that the mRNA in the cells translate to a lot of cool things you've been looking for," Emma said as she turned to face him. "There are a lot of start and stop codons that begin lines for increased durability, muscle development, flexibility, and a bunch of other cool stuff. Where did you find this?"

"Well, I can't tell you where we got this from but your findings are exactly what we were expecting."

"We?"

"Don't worry too much about it," Dr. Gehn reassured his pupil with an excited twinkle in his eye. These were the results he was looking for. "You've completed your assignment as asked. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

"Um, okay," Emma replied awkwardly. She had only been in the building for a mere half-hour observing a specimen, but she was already done with her work? Something wasn't right.

"Thank you for your hard work today, Emma," Dr. Gehn said with a wide smile.

"Yeah, it was no problem," Emma nodded slowly before remembering Raylan. "Oh, wait! One of my friends, Raylan, might be interested in a job here. He's really good at biology and I think he'd be a good fit."

"I'm sorry but I'm not really..." Dr. Gehn began before catching himself. If he was a high schooler like Emma and was at least a little bit muscular, he would fit right in with his plans. "Actually, hold on a minute. How old is he? And does he have some build on his body?"

"He's in my class so he's my age," Emma answered, a little taken back by her mentor's strange questions. "And he's pretty buff for what he is. Why?"

"Oh, it's no matter," Gehn grinned.

"I guess I'll just write his number down in the notepad or something," Emma mumbled and scribbled his phone number down on the front page of her work notes.

"Thank you," Dr. Gehn told her and held the notepad up to inspect his number. "I'll see you tomorrow, Emma."

"Yeah, you too."

* * *

Raylan was over at his best friend Shane Johnson's house for the rest of the Monday evening working on homework and binge-watching superhero movies. The sound of the heavy spring rain outside was loud against the walls of the house and it was pretty much the perfect day to stay indoors. Shane popped in _Man of Steel_ right after the pair finished watching _The Dark Knight Rises_.

"I still can't believe you haven't seen this movie," Shane told Raylan as he inserted the Blu-ray disc into his PS4 DVD player. "It's such a great movie."

Shane, like Raylan, was very athletic. The two of them were star members of the school's varsity hockey and lacrosse teams and even played football for a year. Like Raylan, Shane had brown skater hair, albeit a little bit lighter and a little bit longer. His deep blue eyes accentuated his face and complemented his features. There was a small peculiar scar on his chin from a bicycle accident that happened when he was in elementary school.

"Yeah but after today I won't be able to say that anymore," Raylan laughed. "Let's get this shit started!"

Just before Shane was able to plop on the couch, Raylan's phone started to buzz. Confused, he looked at the caller ID and saw that the number was not saved to his phone. Shane gave him a confused look that translated to "who?". Who could possibly be calling him?

"Hello?" Raylan answered his phone.

" _Hey Raylan, it's Emma,_ " Emma's voice spoke on the other end of the line.

"Oh, hey, what's up?"

" _Can I ask you for a favor?_ "

"Yeah, go ahead."

" _It's raining hard and I usually take the evening bus back home from ProgTech but I kinda missed it and I don't wanna get stuck here so would you mind walking me back, please? I would have called my parents but both of our cars are in repair._ "

"Yeah, of course I'll pick you up! I'll be right there with an umbrella."

"Be where?" Shane asked while Raylan was still on the phone.

" _Thank you so much, Raylan!_ "

"No problem," Raylan said and put the phone down.

"Who was that?" Shane asked when Raylan finally hung up.

"Emma Pryce," Raylan answered. "She doesn't want to walk back home from work by herself so I'm gonna go real quick and pick her up."

"Do I smell a booty call?" Shane teased.

"Seriously dude? She's not like that, man."

"I know, I'm just messin' with you, dude. You've been after her for a while and she actually called you," Shane patted Raylan on the back. "Go pick her up, I'll hold the movie till you're back."

"Promise you won't start it?"

"Bro, trust me."

* * *

The ProgTech building wasn't that far from Shane's house but the heavy rainfall made the trip feel so much longer. Even though Raylan hated the rain, he didn't want Emma to get caught in it. That, to him, was much worse. Fortunately for him, his umbrella prevented most of the rain from drenching him. He waited around in front of the building until he noticed Emma open the main doors.

Raylan noticed that she had somewhat of a confused look on her face, but he figured that work would have made her that way. Still, it hadn't been much longer than an hour since school let out so there wasn't much work that she could have done in that time.

"Raylan, you came!" She exclaimed and ran quickly under his umbrella. "Thank you!"

"Why wouldn't I come?" Raylan asked with a light chuckle. He unbuttoned his red field jacket and handed it to her. "I think you're gonna need this more than I am."

"Well you're all Mr. Manners today, aren't you?" Emma smiled and wrapped the jacket around herself. "Thank you. Shall we head out?"

"You lead the way. I don't know where you live."

"Follow me, then," Emma said and began to walk away from the building.

The pair walked down a few streets without saying much. Raylan fell victim once again to the spell of speechlessness normally associated by being near a crush. He was walking her home for Pete's sake, the least he could do was strike up a casual conversation.

What Raylan didn't know, though, was that Emma also had a crush on him. It began during freshman year when a few of the high school students went down to the local elementary school to teach little kids some basics of biology. Emma and Raylan both went and it melted her heart when she saw him connecting so well with the kids. Ever since then, she looked at him in a different light - a much better light.

"So, how was work?" Raylan finally mustered the courage to strike up a conversation. "You looked kinda tired when you walked out."

"Oh, thank you for asking me! I almost forgot!" Emma exclaimed and looked up to him. "Work was sorta weird, but I told my mentor about you. At first he didn't seem interested in having another high school intern but they he asked about your age and your physical build. It was kinda weird."

"He asked about my build?" Raylan asked with a laugh. "Why on Earth would he care about that?"

"Beats me," Emma laughed back. "But he seemed kinda serious to have someone 'muscular' for whatever thing he had in mind. I gave him your number."

"That's kinda weird. I guess I'll just wait to hear back from him or something." Raylan shrug and began to feel a sting in his eye where he was punched again. He touched the area and winced with a groan.

"Oh, by the way, I heard about what _actually_ happened with your eye," Emma giggled. "What I heard was that you stood up to Johnny King. Is that true?"

"I mean, he had Tyler Bleak pinned to a locker earlier today," Raylan explained with flashes of the incident going through his head. "I wasn't gonna stand there and let him bully people so I told him to put Tyler down. He got pissed and punched me right in the eye."

"Well if it makes you feel any better I thought that was brave of you," Emma reassured him. "Also, Tyler is an engineering intern at ProgTech. I met him in the elevator today. He's kind of an awkward kid but I'm sure he'd like someone who stuck up for him around."

"Yeah, I bet. You know if lightning strikes then we're screwed?" Raylan asked and pointed up to the sky. "The tip of my umbrella is metal."

"You're the one holding it, though, so _you're_ screwed," Emma joked

"Okay, I see how it is!"

The two of them walked about the mile outside of the city to an affluent upper-class neighborhood called "Cherry Hill". Pretty much all of the people that lived in the neighborhood were important businessmen, politicians, or really good investors. It was pretty much accepted around Smalltown that anyone who lived in Cherry Hill had "made it". Raylan figured that this was the neighborhood where Emma lived.

"Wow, you live in Cherry Hill?" He asked her with mild disbelief. "I mean you always seemed perfect but not _this_ perfect."

"Yeah, well..."

"No wonder you dress so preppy. It's cause you're rich!"

"I mean... well..." Emma stammered with a blush. " _I'm_ not rich. My parents are, though..."

"Oh, come on, don't be ashamed of your family's wealth!" Raylan teased her. "I mean what's theirs is yours, right?"

"Well, more or less," Emma shrugged.

Emma finally led Raylan to the doorstep of what seemed to be her house. It was a grand Victorian estate complete with a gate and a fence. The heavy rain gave it an ominous appearance, but only in the best way possible. There were a few lights on in the house that Raylan could see through the windows, meaning that he wouldn't be leaving Emma all by herself.

"Well, thanks for walking me today," Emma told Raylan with a smile. She took off the jacket he gave her and handed it back to him. "I really appreciate it. I'm sure my parents would, too."

"It's no problem," Raylan replied and took his favorite jacket back from her hands. "I hate the rain myself, so I wouldn't dare leave someone else behind in it."

For about a minute the two of them stood there staring at each other without saying a word. Time was of the essence and Raylan was wasting it all. This was his chance to make a move and he was failing miserably.

"Umm, so did you maybe wanna...?" Raylan asked and scratched the back of his head.

"Maybe wanna what?" Emma asked with a glow in her eyes. Raylan was clearly trying to ask her out.

"I don't know, we could... uhh..." Raylan stammered. He would have to be better than that if he wanted to get her to say yes. "I don't know, are you free Friday night or something?"

"Friday night is four nights from now," Emma told him. She had to make sure he wanted her just as badly as she wanted him. "What if I didn't plan that far ahead?"

"But you do," Raylan pointed out to her. "I know you do. I know you're the type of girl to plan a decade in advance."

"Touché."

"So are you?" He asked again with a smile that made Emma weak in the knees. "Don't play hard to get with me."

"Yes, I'm free," she giggled. "What are you planning on doing with me?"

"I was thinking we could go catch a movie?" Raylan suggested. "Maybe grab some frozen yogurt and hang out in Golden Park afterwards?"

"That sounds wonderful." Emma grinned and turned to face her home. "Well, I better get inside before my parents get worried. Thanks again for walking me back!"

"Yeah, no problem." Raylan waved to her and began to walk away. "See you tomorrow!"

He watched carefully to make sure that she was able to safely get her to get inside her house before turning around. Each step he took on his way back to Shane's house caused his mind to race more and more.

He just asked Emma Pryce on a date.

And she said yes.

* * *

Thanks so much for reading!

Leaving a **review** never hurt! Whether you liked it or not, feedback is always much appreciated! Sometimes I do add character elements and change stuff up when I see them in your review, so there's always a good chance of that! :)


	4. Chapter 3 - Red Rising

_Rated T - May contain strong language or adult themes_

 **CHAPTER 3 - RED RISING**

 **==Smalltown, California, United States==**

It was the middle of the night and Dr. Albert Gehn couldn't keep himself from studying the data Emma had presented to him. The lone light from his lamp shining onto his desk, illuminating Emma's work. If what she observed was really the case, then the data in the gems could be the missing link between humans and superhumans that he had spent his whole life looking for. One question about the gems, however, kept bugging him: what were they?

Raylan's number was taped to his bulletin board in case he ever needed to give him a call in the event of a breakthrough. If his work truly was what he hoped it could be, then he would want a person of Raylan's age to be the first test subject. The effects of the genetic enhancements he so longed to engineer would fit like a glove on a teenager's developmental stage.

A light kiss on the top of his head eased his mind from his work.

"Matilda," he mumbled, turning around to look at his wife standing behind him. Her red hair graying and the soft wrinkles on her face indicating she shared his stress. "Please go to bed."

"Albert, I can't go to bed when you're working yourself to death," Matilda told him softly, rubbing his shoulders softly.

"But I _need_ to finish this. This could be the discovery of the millennium."

"Honey, this isn't a healthy habit to have. I understand that this is your passion and dream but you have to take care of yourself at the same time."

"If I pause right now then I will lose my entire train of thought! If that happens then my breakthrough will be all for nothing..."

" _Please_ just take some rest," she pleaded to him. "I don't care if you want to wake up early to work or whatever, I just want you to take some rest."

"I..." Albert sighed and took one more look at Raylan's number on the wall. There was no way he was going to finish his work if he didn't give his mind a chance to take a break. He switched off the lamp on his desk and stood up. "Yes, perhaps a rest is what I need. I'll head up to bed."

"Thank you, honey," Matilda sniffled and kissed her husband on the cheek.

Albert got up from his desk and followed his wife out of the study. Early in the morning he would wake up and put the finishing touches on his experiment. When he felt satisfied with his results, he would make potentially the most important phone call of his career.

* * *

It was around six o'clock in the morning and the dim morning sun peeked through the blinds in Raylan's bedroom, cascading rays of natural light onto his face. School didn't start until eight o'clock, but sometimes Raylan liked to wake up early and get ready for the day while the morning sun was still fresh. It just left him feeling energetic and natural for the duration of the day.

A powerful vibration near him immediately broke into his sleep as he sat up abruptly and moved his head around searching for its source. He rubbed his eyes hard to ease the early morning blurriness and realized that his phone was vibrating on the nightstand. With a loud groan, he picked his phone up to see that there was an unknown number calling him.

"Who the hell is calling me at six in the damn morning!?" Raylan groaned loudly and held the phone to his ear, his voice still groggy. "Hello?"

" _Hello, is this Mr. Raylan Westbrook?_ " The voice on the other end of the line asked. He sounded to Raylan like he was an older man.

"Speaking," Raylan groaned with a deep breath, still trying to fully awaken his senses. "Who is this?"

" _My name is Dr. Albert Gehn from Progressive Technologies Incorporated and I received your phone number from one of your school friends,_ " Dr. Gehn explained. " _I was actually wondering if you would be interested in helping me out with an... interesting job._ "

"I mean, it depends on what you're asking for."

" _I cannot speak of it over the phone because of company confidentiality but if you like to come in soon we can talk about it then. It's a little bit strange so let me know as soon as possible whether or not you are fine with it._ "

"Yeah that sounds fine, but when is soon?"

" _Can you make it to the ProgTech tower in the next half-hour or so?_ "

"Yeah, that works I guess," Raylan shrugged.

" _Perfect. The genetics office is on the twentieth floor of the building. You should be able to find your way through the arrows._ "

"Cool, I'll see you then."

" _Yes, see you then._ "

Raylan heard Dr. Gehn's line go dead and he removed his cell phone from his ear. If he managed to land a job or any sort of research experience, then he was sure to make it into a good college. He had everything apart from that and now Dr. Gehn was offering him a chance at a job!

"Thank you Emma Pryce," he mumbled to himself and hopped out of bed in order to make it to the ProgTech building quickly before school. After all, Dr. Gehn probably just wanted to meet him, right?

* * *

It was six-thirty in the morning and Raylan was able to get up, brush, shower, change, and skateboard to the ProgTech building with even a few minutes to spare. As he stood at the entrance, he looked all the way up to the top of the skyscraper, the sunlight gleaming bright onto the glass. He took a deep breath and opened the large glass double doors to get into the building.

While Raylan had always walked past the ProgTech tower and marveled at it in the city's skyline, he never once went inside. In fact, the closest he ever came to the building was when he came to pick Emma up just the night before. The company was usually restrictive on letting non-employees into the building so Raylan pretty much never got the chance to check it out.

It was more beautiful on the inside than Raylan could ever imagine. The lobby took up about the first three or four floors and Raylan could see straight up to the top due to a small funnel leading up in the building's center. The all-glass bodywork of the building meant that during the daytime the only natural light in the lobby was from outside. If Raylan could land a job there, he would get the chance to see the shining interior all the time.

"Can I help you, sir?" A receptionist at the nearby information desk called out to him. She was a pretty Asian woman with her jet black hair tied in a bun. "You look a little lost."

"I'm... uhh... I'm just dropping in on Dr. Gehn's office today. He told me to swing by," Raylan explained and walked over to the desk.

"Sir, you do not have a name tag nor are you dressed professional," the receptionist told him. "I can't let you through without some sort of pass."

"I mean... he just told me to come in," Raylan shrugged and looked at the clothes he was wearing. She was right, he would never get in easily dressed with a dark red hoodie, skinny jeans, black-red Vans, and a skateboard strapped to his backpack (although his Ray Ban glasses probably gave him a few points). "He never told me I needed a badge or anything."

"I can check the guest badges to see if he has one with your name printed out for today," she told him and opened up a drawer. "What is your name?"

"Raylan... Raylan Westbrook," Raylan answered.

"And may I see some form of ID?"

"Uhh... oh... yeah," Raylan nodded and fidgeted through his pockets to find his wallet. He pulled it out and showed her the cover flap containing his driver's license. "Here you go."

"So you _are_ in fact Raylan Westbrook," she told him and pulled out a badge with his name written on it. "Company protocol says I have to check ID. Here's your guest badge."

"Thank you," Raylan said and took the badge from her hands and clipped it onto the front strap of his backpack.

He turned around and headed down the lobby to where the elevators seemed to be. There was already a rush of people clogging the area trying to get started on their busy workdays. Raylan waited patiently in line until it was finally his turn to fit in an elevator which ended up being cramped by about ten people.

After the uncomfortable ride up to the twentieth floor, Raylan paid close attention to the signs and the arrows directing him down the halls. The genetics department was to his left from the elevators and down a long hall through a set of double doors which required him to scan his ID. He managed to successfully navigate his way through the floor and found himself in some weird sort of laboratory with long rows of lab benches.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Westbrook," an old man's voice called from the distance.

"Huh?" Raylan asked in shock and turned around. Behind him was a man in clearly his mid-fifties with frizzly gray hair and thin-framed glasses. "Oh, you must be Dr. Gehn."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Dr. Gehn smiled and extended his arm.

"Nice to meet you as well," Raylan nodded and shook his hand.

"You look perfect for the job position I'm trying to fill. In fact, we may even be able to get started on it before school today."

"And what may I ask is the job?"

"A human test subject," Dr. Gehn answered with a smirk.

"A... a test subject?" Raylan asked in disbelief. "Like... you want to test stuff on me?"

"You won't sound so appalled when I explain what the 'stuff' is," Dr. Gehn explained.

"Alright then tell me what it is," Raylan said and leaned on a lab bench with his arms crossed.

"Yesterday we discovered... well, I can't really tell you _what_ we discovered until you comply as a test subject but we did discover something potentially groundbreaking," Dr. Gehn began. "Infused within what we discovered was a set of genes that code for things such as increased muscle durability and growth, improved and sturdier bone structure, lighter adhesion to surfaces, increased neural plasticity and even more."

"So what I'm getting out of this is that you want to inject me right now with genes that you discovered just yesterday to make be better, smarter, faster, and stronger. That is what you're getting at, correct?" Raylan asked with a laugh. "Are... are you joking with me right now?"

"I figured you wouldn't believe me at first," Dr. Gehn sighed. "But I ask that you trust me. This is my entire life's work and there are absolutely no harmful side effects to this."

"I mean, how are you even gonna get my parents to sign the waiver for this? I'm still a minor."

"That's where the good stuff comes in," Dr. Gehn told him. "This is a top secret experiment that can't have any outside approval. No parents, no siblings, no girlfriend, _nobody_. The decision rests solely on you."

"I..."

"I know this is a lot to think about, but I'm asking you to keep your mind open."

"Well..." Raylan sighed and weighed his options. At best he would emerge from this with his mind and body completely improved. At worst nothing would happen. It would also give him an excuse to come in to work with Emma after school all the time. He thought hard and finally made up his mind. "I'll do it."

"You... you will?" Dr. Gehn asked, taken back by Raylan's willingness to go with the experiment. "You have to remember that this is a top secret project that remains confidential to the two of us and any other participants that I find."

"Yeah, know. I think it's worth it," Raylan nodded slowly.

"Oh, this is fantastic!" Dr. Gehn exclaimed and went into a storage room in the lab.

Raylan stayed leaning on the lab bench as he waited for Dr. Gehn to come back. He couldn't believe he was actually going to go through with the test but he felt that ultimately the pros would outweigh the costs in the long run. He watched as Dr. Gehn came back into the room holding a waiver, an alcohol wipe, and a syringe needle filled with ruby red liquid.

"I'm going to need you to sign this," Dr. Gehn said and handed Raylan the paper with a pen.

"Hold on a sec..." Raylan paused him and skimmed through the terms and conditions. He nodded after he finished and quickly signed his name down.

"Okay, roll up your sleeves and hold still," Dr. Gehn instructed Raylan and held the needle over his arm.

"Gotcha," Raylan sighed and rolled up his sweatshirt sleeve. He watched carefully as Dr. Gehn wiped down his antecubital space and pushed the needle into his skin. "Ah!"

"It'll just last a second," Dr. Gehn assured him and pushed all of the liquid into Raylan's veins. "There, that's it."

"Huh, doesn't feel too bad," Raylan mumbled and swung his arm around in order to spread the liquid throughout his arm.

"You won't feel the effects for... well, I don't know how long but you won't feel the effects immediately. Stop by after school and we'll get you your official employee badge and talk about how you're feeling. Also, if this ends up working then I've built some... accessories that may be of use to you."

"Sounds good to me!" Raylan smiled and shook Dr. Gehn's hand again. "It was a pleasure meeting you and I hope this thing works."

"Oh boy, I do too."

* * *

It was exactly halfway through the school day when the lunch bell rang and the students were let out to eat. Lunch generally lasted an hour so students could not only eat but also take advantage of the library and other study resources during the day. It was pretty much ever student's favorite time of day as it meant downtime for a whole sixty minutes.

Raylan usually ate lunch by Shane's locker with the rest of their hockey teammates, but on this particular day he found himself on a computer at the library. He still hadn't felt any effects from the genes that Dr. Gehn injected earlier in the morning but that wasn't going to stop him from studying for a quiz he had in psychology after lunch. He had spent all week studying for it and he was going to make damn sure that he came out of the classroom with an "A".

While he was studying intently he heard someone sit loudly on the chair next to him. Since he was too focused on his studying, he didn't bother to look at the person sitting there. It probably wasn't anyone important, anyways.

"Not gonna say anything?" A familiar female voice asked him.

"Huh?" He turned his head and saw Emma's giggling face staring at him. He had to hold his breath for a second as he noticed her beautiful hair tied back in a ponytail and her deep emerald eyes staring at him. "Oh sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Psychology was gettin' in my head."

"So, did you hear back from my mentor yet?" She asked inquisitively.

"Yeah, believe it or not he actually called me at six in the morning," Raylan informed her.

"Seriously?" Emma asked with a laugh. "He called you at six in the morning?"

"Yeah, I headed down to ProgTech before school started to talk to him about some... things..." Raylan explained, trying not to give the secret of the experiment away. "I got the job he called me in for which mean we get to walk there together after school."

"Really?" Emma asked with a glow in her eyes. "What kind of job is it?"

"Don't make fun of me but I'm basically a human guinea pig," Raylan laughed. "Dr. Gehn just wants me in for some tests and little things like that. I'm going to be doing a lot of self-analysis at work, if you know what I mean."

"That sounds pretty cool, actually."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, it really does!" Emma smiled and looked to Raylan's computer. "So you said you were working on psychology, right?"

"Mhm."

"Got a quiz or something coming up?"

"Mhm."

"How about I quiz you?" Emma suggested.

"Yeah, sounds good to me," Raylan agreed and handed her his notes. "Start from the very top and work your way down. I'm pretty sure I don't know jack shit but this'll let me know what I need to look more at."

"Alrighty then," Emma mumbled and looked at the first line of Raylan's notes. "Define _operant conditioning_."

"Ehmm..." Raylan sat and thought for a minute before a strange feeling struck into his mind. "I think operant conditioning is when you condition someone or something to react to a certain stimuli with both positive and negative effects. For example, if I gave you chocolates everyday you'd think I was sweet but it would end up being really unhealthy."

"Wow, good job," Emma giggled. "And I love chocolate so I wouldn't care. Next question: define _superego_."

"The superego provides morals and standards for the ego," Raylan answered quickly, feeling the same brainwave again.

Wait a minute... he didn't know what the hell superego meant twenty minutes ago.

"Awesome," Emma mumbled and scanned through his notes. "What does the _amygdala_ control?"

"Oh shit, I definitely didn't study that but I think it... it controls emotion," Raylan answered.

Okay, he definitely did _not_ know what that meant earlier.

The genetic serum was kicking in.

"Are you sure you don't know jack shit?" Emma asked skeptically. "You seem to know a lot more than 'jack shit'."

"Yeah, I... I guess I just... I don't know... I guess I just studied more than I expected," Raylan laughed. He quickly went through his brain and found that he could completely remember his note sheet. "You know, I think I'm good to go for this quiz."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, something is telling me that I studied enough to pass." Raylan shrugged. "I feel pretty confident."

"Okay then Mr. Smartypants," Emma giggled and looked to the clock. "Lunch is almost over. I'll let you get back to your last minute of studying."

"Yeah, thanks for helping me out," Raylan smiled and took his notes from her. "See you at work!"

"Yup, you too! Good luck on your quiz!"

Raylan watched with a smile as Emma got up from her chair and left the library with her belongings. If Dr. Gehn's serum actually did what he advertised, then Raylan was in for a long ride.

* * *

 **==Shadowlands==**

The Shadowlands were, at the time being, still at peace. Master J's grande palace stood tall at the center of the dimension, hulking all other buildings. The golden-black walls of the palace was just the beginning of what lay inside.

Master J sat on the golden throne in his prized throne room. Through an orb he called the "Oracle" in the center of the room he was able to watch his fellow shadows to make sure they were following the laws of the land. Ever since the treasonists had been put in their place millions of years ago, the shadows had gone back to peacefully serving their leader in fear of the consequences of even _thinking_ about defying him.

His peace and quiet on the throne came to a quick halt when Commander Zod barged into the throne room and bowed before him. The deep urgency in his glowing eyes was something Master J had never seen before.

"What is it, Zod?" Master J asked him and stepped off of his throne. "Something seems to be troubling you."

"It's the old gems," Commander Zod began. "There is a disturbance."

"You speak of the five gems the treasonists sent out, do you not?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Then what is it?"

"Something has happened," Commander Zod explained. "I do not know exactly what it is, but the gems are soon to be activated."

"That... that can't be..." Master J grumbled, scratching his hand to his chin. "We have to find them and stop them!"

"Yes, that is _obviously_ what our intentions are, but how do we go about doing such a thing?"

"Scour the universe," Master J instructed his Commander.

"All of it?" Commander J asked in disbelief. "My lord, that is a large-"

" _All of it._ " Master J hissed. "And I don't want you to stop until you have found them."

"Y-yes, my lord," Commander Zod bowed again. "I will get on it right away."

* * *

Thanks so much for reading!

Leaving a **review** never hurt! Whether you liked it or not, feedback is always much appreciated! Sometimes I do add character elements and change stuff up when I see them in your review, so there's always a good chance of that! :)


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